Carbonator.



No. 757,375. PATENTBD APR. 12, 1904.

' F. B. WEST. 7

GARBON'ATOR.

APPLICATION Pu-En 001211. 1902. no MODEL.

2 BHEETSSHEET 1.

Tm: Noam: rams co. Pno'raumo. wAsnmuToN. n. c.

UNITED STATES Patented April 12, IQO I PATENT .OFFICE.

GARBONATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 757,375, dated April12, 1904.

' Application filed October 11, 1902. Serial No. 126,949. (No model.)

To all whom it Wrap concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK BATES WEsT, a citizen of the UnitedStates,residing at Colfax, in the county of Jasper and State of Iowa,have invented a certain new and useful Oarbonator, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The objects of my inventionare to provide a carbonator for mixing themineral water with the gas by a simple and inexpensive device. Iaccomplish this object by means of a series of disks rotatably mountedbeneath the openings of: a series of funnels, so that as the waterpasses through these funnels on to the rotating disks it will becomethoroughly mixed with the gas-which is in the retaining-tank,in which mydisks rotate.

A further object is to provide a pump for drawing water from asupply-pipe and forcing it into the upper portion of the gas-retainingtank.

Afurther object is to provide means for antomatically throwing the meansfor driving the piston of thepumping device out of gear with saidpiston, the driving means of said pumping device beingalso used torotate the disks in the gasretaining tank.

A further object is to provide rotating disks in the gas-retaining tankwhich have upwardlyextending projections so arranged that thewataining-tank rises the water .in the said can will risecorrespondingly.

' A further object is toprovide a pipe for allowing the carbonated watertobe drawn from the tank and run into bottles or other receptacles. Ihave also provided means for allowing the waste water which is oftenleft in the tank to escape from beneath the bottom of the tank.

A further object is to provide a safety-valve ated by hand.

. more clearly the rotating disks.

in the gas-retaining tank which can beoper-v A further objectis toprovide a gas-inlet into said retaining-tank.

Further, it is my object to providemeans for limiting the upward anddownward movement of the can which forms a portion of the means forautomatically throwing the driving mechanism out of gear with the pump.

- My invention cons sts 1n certa1n details in the construction,arrangement, and combination of the various-parts of the device wherebythe objects contemplated are attained, as'

hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, andillustrated in the accompainying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a frontelevation the pumping device, showing the piston in said device and outof gear with the piston forming a portion of said device and also thepipe leading from the pump into the gas-retaining tank. Fig. 2 is across-sectional view of the retaining-tank out through the line 2 2 ofFig. 1. This shows a portion of one of the. funnels in theretaining-tank broken away to illustrate Fig. 8 shows in perspective thelower portion of the gasretaining tank and a portion of the meanswhereby the driving mechanism of the pump is thrown in and out'of gearwith the piston of said mechanism. a The top portion of thegas-retaining tank in this view is broken away. Fig. I shows the piston,piston-rod, and the lower portion of the driving mechanism of thepumping device. This is in tended to illustrate the way in which thepiston is kept in gear with the driving mechanism of the pump and alsoto show a portion of the means for throwing said mechanism out of gearwith said piston. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the weight and can of themechanism for throwing the piston'in and out of gear with the drivingmechanism. and also showing the means for limiting the upward anddownward movements of the can and weight.

. near its central portion.

7 Referring to the accompanying drawings, I have used thereference-numeral 10 to indicate the lower portion of the gasretainingtank. This portion of the gas-retaining tank is substantially circularin cross-section and has a bottom portion with an opening 11 extendingthrough it. This bottom portion is bent downwardly a slight distancefrom the lower end of the sides of said tank. Beneath the bottom, whichI have referred to by the numeral 12, I have provided a circular support13, so that there will be plenty of room beneath the bottom 12 andbetween it and the platform 14, upon which the tank is placed, to allowbevel "gear-wheels to be operated, as hereinafter more fully described.

' I have provided an outlet-pipe 15, which enters the bottom 12 andpasses through it This outlet-pipe 15 has a valve 16 to control the flowthrough said pipe. Extending substantially at right angles to the pipe15 and outside of the support 13 is the delivery-pipe 17, saiddelivery-pipe being attached at its upper end near the top of the lowerportion of the tank. This pipe 17 has three valve-controlled outlets 18,19, and 20, so that a number of bottles or other receptacles may befilled at the same time when the water passes out through it. The topportion of the gas-retaining tank 10 is formed by a circular oval part21, having a circular opening 22 in its central portion, with a funnelextending upwardly from the opening 22, and the distance between thesides of this funnel, which I have designated by the numeral 23, becomesgreater as the top of said funnel is approachedthat is, the distancebetween the sides of the funnel 23 at the top is greater than thedistance between the sides of the funnel at the bottom. On the sides ofthis funnel 23 I have provided the projections 24, which extend aroundthe entire interior of the funnel23.- Any number of these projections 24may be used in the funnel 2-3. These projections 24 are designed tosupport the funnels -25, which are detachably mounted within the funnel23, as will be apparent, said funnels 25 having openings in their lowercentral portion, so that the mouths of the funnels 25 are nearest to thetop of the funnel 23. These funnels are arranged at equal distancesapart throughout the vertical length of the funnel 23. The top 26 ofthis funnel 23 is provided.

with a safety-valve 27, said safety-valvealso being provided with amechanism for operating it manually by means of the rod 28.

Extending through the openings 29 at the lower portion of the funnels 25is a disk-driving shaft 30, said disk-driving shaft also extendingthrough the opening 11 in the bottom of the retaining-tank 10. The lowerend of the shaft 30 is provided with a roller-bearing 31, saidroller-bearing being mounted on the bottom 14. This roller-bearing is soarranged that the disk-driving shaft can rotate on this fans may be usedon the interior of the tank 10. Mountedon the shaft 30 and near the topportion 21 is a disk 36, having the projections 37 extending upwardlytherefrom and substantially at right angles to the body portion of saiddisk. Mounted on the shaft 30 and on the portions of it which arebetween the funnels 25 is a series of disks 38, having the projections39 extending upwardly therefrom and substantially at right angles to thebody portion thereof. These projections are curved from their point ofattachment at the central portion of the disk to the outer portionthereof. This curve is made so that the outer portion of the projections39 is farther behind than the central portion thereof when the disk isrotated in the desired direction. The outside portions of these disksare beveled from their upper portion downwardly, so that as the waterpasses into the funnel 25 it will pass through the opening 29 in saidfunnel and on to the disk 38 and flow freely from said disk into thefunnel next below. The disk 38 near the top of the funnel 23 is as muchlarger than the disk nearthe lower end of said funnel 23 as the funnelis larger at its top portion than the funnel is at its bottom portion. Ihave provided a valve-controlled gas-inlet 40, which extends into thecenter of the tank 10 near its lower extremity. Mounted on the standard14, which supports the retainingtank 10, are the uprights 41, having theshaft 42 rotatably mounted at their upper portion. The shaft 42 has aU-shaped portion 43 midway between its extremities and between theuprights 41. This shaft 42 is substantially in the same line as a linewould be drawn from the central portion of one side of the tank 10 tothe opposite side thereof. In this connection I consider the front of mytank 10 to be that portion which is shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings.Mounted on the end of the shaft 42 outside of one of the uprights 41 andaway from the retaining-tank 10 is the fly-wheel 44. Mounted on theopposite end of the. shaft 42 and on that end which is nearest the tank10 I have provided a drive-wheel 45. the drive-wheel 45 is a smallerwheel 46.

Rotatably mounted on the platform 14 is the driving shaft 47, said shaft47 extending through the opening 48 at one side of the tank-support 13.The shaft 47 has a bevel gear-wheel 49 on one end thereof in mesh withInside of the gear-wheel 32. This shaft 47 also has a drive-wheel 50near the opposite end of the shaft from the wheel 47, said wheel 50being outside of the support 13. The wheels 46 and 50 are designed tohave a belt 51 passed over them, so that as the wheel 46 is rotated thewheel 50 will be rotated in a corresponding direction, thus rotating theshaft 47;-and the gear-wheel 49 in the same direction as the drive-wheel50. It will be seen-that when this shaft 47 is rotated the disk-bearingshaft 30 will be rotated at the same time, as the gear-wheels 32 and 49are in mesh with each other.

Rotatabl y mounted on the U-shaped portion 43 of the shaft 42 .andextending downwardly therefrom is a driving-arm having a body portion 51attached to the shaft 42. At the lower end of this body portion 51 andsome distance from each otherare the arms 52, said arms forming a U, theU, however, being inverted, so that the lower ends of said arms 52 canbe firmly attached to the ring 53, which is slidingly mounted on a rod54, which is mounted between said arms 52. The rod 54 has a body portioncircular in cross-section, and it also has adisk 56 at its outer end,designed to fit into the cylinder 57. This cylinder 57 is mountedbetween the uprights 58 and 59, which are mounted between the uprights41 and below their central portion. Leading into the lower portion ofthe cylinder 57 and on the side of said cylinder which is away from thetank 10 is the supply-pipe 60,havinga one-way valve 61 therein soarranged that as the piston moves upwardly the water will flow freelyinto the cylinder 57 on account of the one-way valve being open and thevalve opening toward the cylinder, and when the piston lowers in thecylinder the valve in the supply-pipe will be closed. Ihave provided anoutlet supply-pipe 62 from my cylinder 57, leading into the funnelshapedportion 23 of theretainingtank 10, said supply-pipe entering thefunnel-shaped portion near its top. I have provided a one-way valve 63in the pipe 62 and near that portion of it which enters the cylinder 57.This valve is so arranged that. it will swinginwardly toward thecylinder as the piston 57 rises; but as the piston 57 lowers the valvev63 will be thrown away from the cylinder 57, and thus allow the waterwhich has been drawn into the cylinder to be forced through the pipe 62and into the retainingtank 10. From this it will be seen that as thepiston 54 risesthe one-way valve 63 will be closed and the one-way valve61 will be open and as the piston 54 lowers the one-way valve 63 will beopen and the one-way valve61 will be closed, thus causing the water tobe pumped into the retaining-tank 10 as the piston is moved upwardly anddownwardly.

Encircling the piston-rod 54 at that portion of it which is immediatelyabove the cylinder 57 when the rod 54 is at its lower limit of movementare the grooves 64. Pivotally at tached to the ring 53, which is capableof vertically sliding on the rod 54, are the levers 65 and 66, the lowerportions of said levers extending from their points of attachment to thering 53 straight downwardly and substantially parallel to the sides ofthe rod 54 and have the inwardly-projecting extensions 68 thereon, saidinwardly-projecting extensions 68 being substantially at right angles tothe lower portions 67 and being designed to enter the grooves when themechanism of my pump is in position for cooperation.

The upper portions of the levers 65 and 66 extend away from theirpivotal points and have the weights 69 and 7 O at their upper outerends. These weights are so arranged that the projection 68 on the lowerends of the levers 65 and 66 enter the grooves 64 in the rod when thearms 52 are at their lower limitof movement. These weights alsoconstantly keep the lower ends of the levers 65 and 66 in engagementwith the rod 54 except when they are forced out of engagement with saidrod, as hereinafter disclosed.

Slidingly mounted on the rod 54 is the ring 71, said ring being abovethe ring 53. The ring 71 and the levers 65 and 66 are connected witheach other by means of the pivotallymounted rods 72 and 73, said ringbeing forced upwardly and downwardly as the weights 69 and are raised orlowered. Firmly attached to that side of the tank 10 which is nearestthe pump and extending upwardly and away from its point of attachment isthe supporting-arm 74. Rotatably mounted at the upper end of this arm 74and substantially at right angles thereto is a shaft 75. Mounted on saidshaft, near one end thereof and substantially at right angles thereto,is the equalizer-shaft 76. At one end of said equalizer-shaft I haveprovided a weight 77, and at the other end I have provided a can 78.Attached to the front of the tank 10 is the Waterglass' 79, having anoutlet at its upper extremity and also at its lower extremity. The can78 also has an outlet at its upper portion and an outlet at the bottomportion. The outlet at the upper portion of the can 78 is connected withthe upper portion of the water-glass 79 by means of the tube 80. Theoutlet at the bottom portion of the can 78 is connected with the bottomportion of the water-glass 79 by means of the tube 81. The water-glassalso has inlets into the interior of the tank 10, so that connection isprovided between the interior of the tank 10 and the water-glass 79, sothat as the water rises in the tank 10 it will correspondingly rise inthe can 7 8. The can 78 and the weight 7 7 are so adjusted that when thecan 78 has no water in it the weight 77 will draw the end of theequalizing-shaft 76 to which it is attached downwardly and cause the endto which the can 78 is attached to be drawn upwardly; but when the can 78 is filled with water the end of the equalizingshaft 76 to which thecan 78 is attached will be drawn downwardly and cause the opposite endof said shaft to be raised. The equalizing-shaft 76 is firmly attachedto the shaft 7 5.

I have provided a metal plate 82, which is also firmly attached to theshaft and between the arm 74 and the equalizing-shaft 76. Projectingfrom the arm 74 and a slight distance beneath the plate 82 are the pins83 and 84. The pin 83 is designed to limit the downward movement of thecan 78 and the upward movement of the weight 77. The pin 84 is designedto limit the downward movement of the weight 77 and the upward movementof the can 78.

Firmly attached to the shaft 75 and extending upwardly from and at rightangles to it is the lever 85, having a bolt at its upper end designed topass through any one of the openings 86 in the lever 87, to which it isdesigned to be attached. This series of openings is so arranged that theequalizer can be adjusted to suit the pleasure of the operator.Extending at right angles to the lever substantially parallel with theequalizing-shaft 76, so that its end away from the point of attachmentto the lever 85 is supported by means of a bracket 88, said bracketbeing firmly attached to the interior of one of the uprights 41 of thepump, is the lever 87, above mentioned. Said lever 87 has anupwardlyprojecting member 89, which is designed to engage the upperportion of the lever 65 when the driving-arm 51 is at its lower limit ofmovement and when the weight 77 is also at its lower limit of movementand is designed to throw the projection 68 out of the groove 64 in thepiston-rod when the can 78 is filled with water, causing the weight 77to be drawn upwardly and forcing the lever 87 toward said lever. It willbe seen that as the upper portion of the, levers 65 and 66 are forcedupwardly by means of the lever 87 and its attachments the piston 54 willremain stationary and the arms 52, which are provided with alongitudinal slot through which the levers 65 and 66 pass, will moveupwardly and downwardly and cause the rings 53 and 71 to slide upwardlyand downwardly on the piston without raising it. Thus the pistonrod willbe thrown out of gear with the driving mechanism of the pump when thewater in the tank 10 is at a predetermined height, causing the water inthe can 78 to draw said can downwardly and force the weight 77 upwardly,thus throwing the levers 65 and 66 out of engagement with the grooves64.

I have also provided the regulating-valves 90 and 91 in theoonnecting-pipe 62.

In practical use the operator adjusts the weight 77 and the water-can 78as desired, fills the tank 10 with gas, and starts the pump into fulloperation by connecting it with the driving means. The weight 77 in thisinstance is at its lower limit of movement, thus causing the lever 87 tobe as far away from the lever 65 as it is possible to be. The water willbe forced by means of the pump through the supply-pipe 62 into the upperportion of the funnel 23, in which the disk-bearing shaft 30 isrotating. The water will pass through the gas in the tank, firstentering the funnel 23 at the upper portion thereof, then running intothe uppermost of the series of funnels 25 through the opening 29 in saidfunnel and onto the uppermost of the rotating disks 38. It is thenthrown off of the rotating disk and onto the next funnel of the seriesof funnels 25, and so on until it reaches the rotating disk 36, whenceit drops downwardly onto the rotating fans, which complete the thoroughmixing of the water with the gas in the tank. As soon as the water inthe tank 10 reaches a certain predetermined height the piston of thepumpis automatically thrown out of gear with the driving mechanism bythe means above described. The water is now ready to be drawn from thetank 10 through the pipe 17, as above indicated.

If it is desired to clean the tank 10, the operator can do so byremoving the top portion of the tank from the bottom portion thereof bysimply removing the gear-wheel 32 and the roller-bearing 31.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States therefor, is

1. In a carbonator, the combination with a water-tank, of a taperingfunnel portion supported on the tank and having communication therewithat its bottom, the lower end of the funnel portion being of lessdiameter than the diameter of the tank, an upright shaft journaled inthe tank and extending through the funnel portion, a plurality offunnels supported in the funnel portion and spaced apart, a plurality ofdisks carried by the shaft and located below the funnels, fans attachedto the shaft and arranged in the tank below the lower end of the funnelportion, means for supplying liquid to the upper end of the funnelportion, and means for rotating the shaft. Y

2. In a carbonator, the combination with'a water-tank having a funnelportion tapering toward its lower end, of funnels located in the tankand spaced from each other, said funnels having centraldischarge-openings, an upright shaft extending longitudinally throughthe funnel portion and through the openings in the funnels, diskscarried by the shaft and located below the discharge-openings, and ra-vdially-disposed curved flanges arranged on the upper faces of the disks.

3. In a carbonator, the combination with a cylindrical liquid-receivingtank, of a downwardly tapering funnel portion projecting above the tankand of less diameter than the same, the lower end of the funnel portionbeing 1n communication with the top of the tank,

a vertical shaft extending through the tank and funnel portion, aplurality of funnels supported Within the funnel portion of the tank andhaving centrally-disposed discharge-openings, a plurality ofhorizontally-arranged disks carried by the shaft and located beneath thefunnels, said disks having radially-disposed flanges on their upperfaces, radially-disposed fans carried by the shaft and located in thetank below the funnel portion, said fans being spaced apart, stationaryfans attached to the walls of the tank and arranged between the fans ofthe shaft, means for rotating the vertical shaft, and means forsupplying liquid to the top of the funnel portion above the funnelstherein.

4. In a carbonator, the combination with a liquid-receiving tank, ofagitating means located therein, a pump for supplying liquid to thetank, common driving means for actuating the agitating means and pump,and means for automatically disconnecting the pump and driving meanswithout stopping said driving means.

5. In a carbonator, the combination with a liquid-receiving tank, ofagitating means lo cated therein, a pump for supplying liquid to thetank, said pump including a reciprocatory v plunger, common drivingmeans for actuating the agitating means and reciprocating thepump-plunger, and means actuated by the liquid in the tank fordisconnecting the plun ger and driving means.

6. In a carbonator, the combination with a liquid-receiving tank, ofagitating means located therein, a pump for supplying liquid to thetank, said pump including a reciprocatory plunger, a driving-shafthavinga crank, mechanism connecting the agitating means anddriving-shaft for moving the latter, a clutch connection between thepiston and crank of the shaft, and means actuated by the liquid withinthe tank for operating the clutch, said means being movable into thepath of movement of said clutch.

FRANK BATES WEST.

